//------------------------------// // Lost And Found // Story: The Golden Armor Part II: Lost chapters // by Comet Burst //------------------------------// Angel gaped at the scenery before her. It had taken her a while, but she had made it back to Transylmania, the shoddy town from which she hailed from. She stood on a ridge near the entrance to her home, looking down on it wide-eyed. She knew the town was in sore straights, but she had apparently forgotten just how decrepit everything was. The first thing she noticed was absolutely nothing shined. There were no sparkling walls or windows, no pretty ponds or polished brass. The dried out wood that made up most of the buildings sucked up any kind of light, even those that had orange glowing windows. Building were in no particular order, like the well lined streets of Canterlot. Instead, the looked like a jumble of blocks thrown on the ground. At the center of it all sat the illustrious Town Hall, a large square tower made of stone. It was basically the main pull for tourists here, so the building was the cleanest and neatest part of the town. While Angel wasn't too sure of why it was built, she supposed some mad old unicorn made it to spy on the frozen tundra to the north. Her reasoning wasn't exactly clear on how she came up with that, but it was fun for her to tell tourists that. Speaking of tourism, Angel spun around to the train station she had arrived on. It was getting dark and Angel realized her vision wasn't as sharp as it used to be. The platforms were little more than dark figures in the waning light with only a couple of oil lanterns hanging near the tracks. The ticket booth where Gus, the conductor of this station and her friend, was seemingly gone, along with a wooden shack she remembered all too well. Turning back towards the town, Angel let out a sigh and started to trot over to it. After getting her first taste of freedom from this place, she had almost vowed not to return. Transylmania was a town where you grew up, lived and died in, wishing your whole life to escape from it. Even the colony she hailed from was little more than comforting. About forty minutes and three guards later, Angel stood on a rickety wooden bridge in a pitch black cavern. To normal ponies, like Comet who she missed, this would be a terrifying experience. However, Angel's superior vision allowed her to make out enough of the bridge to cross it. Plus, it felt way too familiar. After trotting on a few steps, Angel gasped as she entered a giant cavern. Sparkling white lights seemed to be everywhere, like she had just stepped into the night's sky. They barely illuminated the cavern, but Angel's eyesight was able to take in everything. The lights were actually stones embedded into a dome. The dome, in turn, was actually the hollow center of a mountain that lined Transylmania. Below her, was the calmest water source Angel had seen in years. To the untrained eye, it didn't look like water at all. It simply looked like the stones went down farther into the ground, like a bottomless pit. Angel, however, knew that it was actually a lake, a massive underground water source that came from Celestia-knows-where. The bat pony shivered as she felt an icy wind around her. The lake was pretty, but it was also cold. In fact, the temperature had dropped significantly from when she was outside due to the lake. Angel shook her head as she remembered that it always was this cold here. She had just forgotten again. Around her, the sounds of other bat ponies echoed in the cavern. Angel looked up to catch a few of them flying from one side of the cavern to the other, entering and exiting little niches in the walls. That was how they lived, in caves eked out by their ancestors years ago. Angel took the cue and followed suit, easily remembering where her cave was. It was higher up from the lake, but closer than many other caves were. Angel's hooves clicked against the smoothed stone underneath her as she trotted to her home. There were several other families who lived here, but they all seemed to be away at the moment, something Angel was extremely grateful for. Dim lights came from each of the tunnels leading off from the cave, indicating that they were still inhabited. Near the end of the caves, she heard humming coming from one of them. Turning to the tunnel, Angel trotted down it a ways to come into a large opening where several stone benches and a table resided. The room was cozy, but cramped. Pictures lined the walls of several bat ponies, some younger and some older, along with dried flowers. Several ropes hung from the ceiling, each containing a small bowl with various fruits on it. The humming got louder as Angel heard another set of hooves echo louder. As Angel turned around, she saw an older bat pony mare trot out into the room. She had her mane done up in a bun, where it was a swirl of midnight blue and silvery gray. She wore half moon glasses on a chain around her neck and a goofy cream colored cardigan. Her smile melted into a look of awe as she regarded the bat pony before here. "What? Who are...?" the mare spoke before covering her mouth with a hoof. Angel smiled sheepishly. "Hi Aunty," she murmured. The older mare almost screamed as she plowed into Angel, wrapping her into a huge hug. "Oh, my sweet little Angel!" she excitedly shouted, "You finally came home!" Angel gagged as the mare squeezed her neck with almost unreal strength. "Yeah... Aunty," she choked out, "I'm... home." "Oh my Luna, you must tell me what has happened! Where did you go, what did you see, who did you meet?!" Angel gurgled a bit, giving her aunt the cue to let her go. The older bat pony mare obliged and released her niece from the hug of doom, smiling widely the whole time. "Oh, I'm so excited you came home! I was so worried about you after you left to find that Artemis fellow years ago, but here you are! I can't wait to tell everyone that you came home! Why, your father..." Angel's aunt stopped at that, as if an idea had struck her. "Your father!" she shouted again, "He needs to see you right now!" Angel tried to say something, but the older mare was gone in a flash. Alone now, Angel let her saddlebags down from her haunches and sat on the cold stone furniture. It wasn't much, but it was the home she remembered. Several loud shouts echoed to her and Angel chuckled. "Aunty Autumn Night," she murmured to herself, "You haven't changed a bit." Two Months Later... Comet stood resolutely still in the throne room, eyes forward into an unwavering gaze at the tapestry on the far side. The rich red dye used on it seemed to shift ever so slightly as he stared, as if it had small veins that pumped the tomato color around the darker emblems, those of Celestia's sun and Luna's moon. While he stared, he was met with the sound of absolute silence; the very rare sound of stillness Comet had recently enjoyed. Not a thing moved, not him or the regular guards posted around the room. It had been a couple months since the debacle with the gryphons and Angel's removal as a captain and guard. Needless to say, both Luna and her guards were not happy, but Celestia had done her best to make amends of the situation. After a rather lengthy and deafening discussion about laws that were outdated, Celestia had the one that had removed Angel repealed to an extent. It was still in place, but it was much more lenient to emergency situations and no longer required immediate response until a proper investigation was conducted. In addition, Celestia issued an apology to all the Lunar Guard, many of which were still sore about the terms and handling of Angel's dismissal. Comet's own job had been an uncomfortable ride since that day. His reaction to Angel's dismissal had caused some speculation that there had been something going on between them, leading to a closer look at his activities in the past few weeks. Thankfully, Shining Armor was leading the investigation. Since Angel was already gone, nothing was found, allowing Comet to retain his position. Rather than losing his command, his workload had nearly tripled from his usual duties. While overlooking the Solar Guard as their acting commander under Shining Armor, he was tasked with overseeing the Lunar Guard while training their new commander as well as commanding the newly formed Magic Guard meant to protect Princess Sparkle. It was harrowing enough to corral his own group, but maintaining order and cohesion among all three was another level of stress. Today, though, he was requested to appear for a meeting between Princesses Celestia, Luna, Twilight Sparkle; as well as Captain Shining Armor. Comet was evidently nervous, as would anypony asked to be in the presence of four of the most powerful ponies in all Equestria, so he relished the momentary silence he had. The pegasus was exhausted from everything that had happened, but his thoughts were not on work. Instead, he thought of Angel. It had been two months since she left. A whole month without any excited squeals, gigantic baby eyes, surprise hugs and general unrest. A year and a half ago, Comet would've done unspeakable things to attain this kind of calm, but now his heart plummeted when he remembered she wasn't here. He missed her more than anypony he could think of, even his deceased sister, Nova. While he wasn't into the whole "romance-novel-longing-and-missing-her" thing that her half-brother, Midnight Glow, was currently going through, he felt as if his life was slowly turning bleak without her. It hadn't taken him long to locate a suitable home for both of them in Canterlot. As of now, Comet was negotiating the price of a small flat above a produce store in Canterlot's market district, about two minutes from the alley he first met her. The owner had wanted a huge sum of bits for the place, which had only two bedrooms, a single bathroom and a large common space crammed into a space the size of Celestia's bedchamber minus the balcony. Not the ideal space for a pony with Angel's energy, but it was where she would be the happiest. A small puff of smoke appeared before his eyes, leaving a small scroll hovering in the air. Comet regarded the note and caught it with his hoof, face still expressionless. The note unfurled in his hoof and he read it quickly before pausing halfway down. His eyes narrowed before widening to the point of comically oversized. Commander, This note is to inform you that a decision has been reached regarding your current position. Your ability to handle the duties of commanding three guard corps has been noticed by their Highnesses, Princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight Sparkle, and your presence has been requested to discuss your new position as Acting Captain of the Guard. Please report to Princess Celestia's chambers immediately.